Orca and Bear Return

..... and Trudeau

Mon Sep 20th

Sunrise over West Howe Sound

Tue Sep 21st

Election coverage in Canada is not much different to election coverage in the UK.  Various pundits, experts and politicians reflecting on the campaign; hedging their bets authoritatively on the outcome.

There was much comment on whether Trudeau might be about to do a Theresa May - my analogy, but the message was the same.  His poll lead when the election was called was eroded down to negligible margins by the time the electorate went out to vote.

Unfamiliar with the parties, politicians and pundits we watched very little.  What coverage we did catch seemed the all too familiar promises of what the party would do and how the governing party had failed or succeeded, depending on your perspective.   Healthcare, social care, pandemic, govt debt and environment/global warming appeared the key areas of campaigning.  There seemed little attention to the Indian Act and Indigenous People, historically a political hot potato, beyond platitudes and promises around having to solve the problem.  

Thirty six weeks and $600m later the result did not hand Trudeau the majority he sought, nor did he do a Theresa May.  The standing of the parties in parliament is almost exactly what it what before the election was called.

Orca Fin

Much more interesting in terms of comebacks, was the Orca that Fred spotted on her Monday morning Jack-walk along Hopkins Landing beach.  She rang me bubbling with excitement as they swam within 100m of the shore, blowing and breaching but in her excitement she didn't get them on video.  Not the greatest image here, but definitely an Orca, thought to be a mother and two calves.  There is a quick glimpse of them before they dive in the video below which another friendly walker (Marianne) took and who shared it with Fred.

They moved off quickly, apparently they can hit speeds of 56kph (35mph), so I headed for our top deck with the binoculars hoping they would swing by the house.  Sadly my camera and long lens is not back from a service.  They must have headed off into the far side of the Sound as I didn't see them.

As none of our possessions have been shipped from the UK yet, Fred has become an expert at sourcing bits and pieces from FB Marketplace and local thrift stores.  The Canadians are big into up-cycling!

We've been wanting to get an office sorted out, rather than using our $60 dining room table and
chairs.  Rug from local rug shop, the only new item at $280.  A $35 office chair from the Sechelt thrift store, a $50 desk from FB Marketplace later and our den area on the open landing area is now an office with a view.  All for £200!

The view's not bad so the binoculars sit on the desk.  It's probably a good job we're not having to work from home, as not much work would get done staring out of the window at this all day.

In the distance on the right is Bowen Island, behind the pine tree in the middle we can often see Mt Baker in the USA (Washington state) and the mountains climbing to the left are on the mainland.

I finished another 6k run on Monday, aiming to get a 10k complete before the end of the month.  I am also pushing for a sub-thirty minute 5k, which so far remains elusive.

No Orca off Hopkins Landing on Tuesday morning but it was an uplifting morning all the same.

I walked back along the beach with Alan and Rufus, who live a road back from the beach.  Alan a fellow Brit and his gentle Rhodesian Ridgeback, the size of a small pony! 

This morning we sorted out Eddie Jone's picks for the 45-man England squad.  Only five from Bath, seven from Quins (which is going to make it a challenge for them to get in the final four of the Premiership).  

Alan is from Glos so no doubt we will compare notes on the West Country derby when it happens. 

Heading out on the walk I left our sealed green food waste bin at the bottom of the drive.  An hour later on my return it was on it's side and the contents strewn across the side of the road.  Bears are known to have good memories and return when they know garbage is likely to be around.  Leaving Jack indoors, I cleaned it up keeping a watchful eye around me in case the bear had not finished breakfast!  No sign fortunately!

Fred's last big interim gig was with Karcher UK.  Maker of jet washers, vacs and other industrial cleaning products.  Good kit, I used one of their industrial vacs in my Burbage workshop.

We have a lot of glass doors and windows where we are at the moment.  Fred, unhappy with my window cleaning skills, announced she'd ordered a Karcher window-vac... a cleaning gizmo.  'Waste of money' I retorted.  'You can't beat a bucket of soapy water and a squeegee thingy' I said, thinking she'd been suckered by her own marketing.

Looks like I am going to be on humble-pie for dinner.  It is an amazingly clever machine and for the first time we can see properly out of our big doors and windows without smears and marks. The good news is the window cleaning baton has been handed over.